Emirates airlines have completed its airlines
first ever Emirates A380 flight from Dubai to Sydney Australia and Auckland New
Zealand, and also sets new standards in eco-efficient air travel.
Award-winning Emirates Airline
notched up yet another first today as it operated the world’s first A380
commercial service from Dubai to Australia and New Zealand. Sydney and Auckland
became the third and fourth destinations to join Emirates’ rapidly-expanding
A380 network.
Taking off from its new home – Emirates Terminal 3, Dubai International Airport
– EK 412 operated by Emirates revolutionary A380 aircraft arrived in Sydney and
flew onwards to Auckland, carrying onboard 400-plus passengers from UK,
Germany, Malta, the UAE, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Iran, amongst other nationalities.
Emirates will operate its A380, dubbed ‘a premium hotel in the sky’, from Dubai
to Sydney and across the Tasman to Auckland every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
The service will progress to a daily, effective 1st May 2009.
Advancing Emirates’ environmental programme, today’s A380 service also heralds
a new era for flights Down Under, a green best-practice demonstration flight,
and the use of the world’s most eco-efficient commercial airliner on the Indian
Ocean for the first time.
All three measures are being deployed to cut fuel burn and emissions on flights
to/ from Australia and New Zealand as well as reduce journey time for
passengers. The per seat fuel burn on the Emirates’ inaugural A380 flight is
expected to be 20 percent less vis-à-vis the normal flights.
EK412, the first commercial flight of an A380 over the Indian Ocean, is also
the test flight for a longer-term green flight initiative involving the Air
Navigation Service Providers of Australia, the UAE, Oman, India, Sri Lanka and
the Maldives working with Emirates and other airlines to pioneer best
environmental practice over the world’s third-largest oceanic region. The
programme will officially commence in the first half of 2009.
Richard Vaughan, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, East
Asia and Australasia noted: “The start of A380 services on this route
represents yet another initiative in Emirates’ partnership with Australia and
New Zealand. Emirates is not only committing to offer a revolutionary in-flight
experience to travellers from these countries but is also enhancing capacity on
the route – a welcome news to tourism authorities of both countries as they
seek to attract increasing number of visitors from the Middle East.”
Despite a challenging global economic environment, visitors from the Middle
East and North Africa (MENA) visiting Australia are expected to grow by 8% this
year and by 15 % in 2010, according to a forecast by the Tourism Australia
Aviation and Economics Team.
In its last annual study, Tourism New South Wales recorded close to 30,000
overnight visitors from the region, representing 43.3% of its total visitors
and a 32.9% increase from the previous year’s study. Already, Emirates is
carrying over 50% of all Gulf tourists visiting Australia. The airline’s robust
network in the Middle East and North Africa comprises 194 flights per week to
16 key gateways.
“The growth in Emirates’ seat capacity by over 40 % is expected to encourage
above-average growth of visitor arrivals and support both countries’ marketing
efforts in the region,” added Mr Vaughan.
In a move aimed at facilitating travel, New Zealand signed a visa-waiver
agreement with the six member States of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Trade
benefits will also accrue as the Middle East is a valuable market for New
Zealand products including wool, dairy products, meat, manufactured goods and
services. At the same time the region is an important source for New Zealand’s
crude oil, polymers and fertilisers.
The new service will also benefit Australians and New Zealanders travelling to
their preferred cities in Europe and the Middle East, and will facilitate a
seamless A380 experience from Auckland/Sydney to Dubai and onwards to London
Heathrow – an important route for travellers from both countries.
The Emirates’ A380 sets a new milestone in environmental conservation, offering
better fuel economy per passenger mile than most hybrid passenger cars. The
aircraft’s environment credentials were further strengthened with today’s green
flight that effectively employed new technology and multi-government
co-operation to create ultra-efficient flexible routings and minimise fuel
burn.
To maximise its environmental efficiency, EK 412 adopted the following
measures:
Priority departure from Dubai and an unrestricted climb from UAE Air Traffic
Control to ensure optimal fuel burn.
Flexible, ultra-efficient routings over countries and their air space such as
Oman, the Maldives and India.
Dynamic re-routing to allow for
weather changes, particularly high-altitude winds, to save journey time and
emissions.
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